Malay reserve land fraud victims urged to report to MACC immediately

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said thus far the agency has not received any reports related to such cases from other states and described what occurred in Perak recently as an isolated case.

"If the MACC receives any information or report on the misappropriation of matters related to changing the status of Malay reserve land to freehold. It is a criminal offence which we will certainly investigate," he told the media today.

He said this after the pre-launch ceremony of the joint venture of a publishing project and Integrity Value Implementation (Anti-Corruption) programme, between MACC and the Malaysian Institute of Translation and Books (ITBM), at the World Trade Centre (WTC) today.

Also in attendance was Education director-general, Azman Adnan.

Yesterday, a managing director of a real estate company was detained by the MACC, to assist in the investigation into a case involving the subdivision of Malay reserve land, covering about 650 hectares, to non-Malays in Mukim Manjong, Setiawan, Perak.

It is understood that the 44-year-old suspect's company is believed to be involved in breaking up Malay reserve land lots into non-Malay lots, then selling them as house and bungalow lots.

The MACC investigation also found a total of 317 subdivision titles or lots from the 650ha of Malay reserve land, the ownership of which was changed.

The detention followed the arrest of a former deputy registrar of titles at the Perak land and mines office, who was charged in the Ipoh Sessions Court last month.

-- BERNAMA